ISLAM
rotating movement, thus creatinga thicker
and darkerlayerof glass inside the vessel.
This inventive solution improvesthe ewer's
overallappearance.A handful of objects
decoratedin this manner,most likelya revival
of a pre-Islamictradition mainly in the
Iranianarea,has survived.The ewer, with its
stylized bird shape, is perhapsthe most
accomplishedobject in that small group.
sc
Ram Receives Sugriva andJambavat, the
Monkey and Bear Kings
India, subimperialMughal, ca. I605
Leaffom a manuscriptofthe Ramayana
Opaquewatercolorand gold on paper,
I0
x 7 Y in. (27 x i8.7 cm)
Four lines of Sanskritand one line ofBundeli;
Hindi on reverse
Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky
Fund, 2oo0
2002.503
The greatIndian epic the Ramayanarecounts
the tale of PrinceRamaand his battlewith
Ravana,king of the demons, which was won
with the aid of the monkey and beararmies.
Here, in a folio from one of the four known
Ramayanamanuscriptsof the Akbarperiod
(I556-I605), the blue-skinnedRamais seated
under a brilliantlycolored, curvedpavilion
with the monkey and bearkings standing
beforehim with folded hands.A row of
courtly human and monkey figuresis below,
while an attendantstandsbehind Ramaand
bold Chinese-inspiredribbonlikeclouds float
in the golden sky.
In contrastto other Ramayanamanuscripts
of this period,which were translatedinto
Persianat the orderof the Mughal emperor
Akbar,this seriesretainsits originalSanskrit
text, indicatingthat it was probablymade for a
Hindu patron, possibly Bir Singh Deo of
Datia. The manuscriptis distinguishedfor its
livelysynthesisof painting styles, combining
the refinementof the imperialMughal tradition with the bold paletteand dynamismof
earlyRajputpainting. Its folios were not
bound with a continuous text; rather,each
illustratedleaf had passageswritten on the
reverse.Damage from a firesoon afterthe
completion of the seriesexplainsthe irregular
NH
shapeof the pages.
Ewer
Probably Iran, 12th century
Blownand tooledglasswith applieddecoration
H. 12 in. (30.5 cm)
Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts,
2002
2002.348
Intact largeglassvessels from the medieval
Islamic period are rare.If they also show little
weatheringof the surface,as does this imposing ewer, they representan exceptional find.
The artisticappeal of the vessel, either a
water container or a wine decanter,is greatly
enhanced by the elongated heartshape of its
mouth and the applied decoration of its neck.
Viewed in profile, they are reminiscentof a
rooster'shead and neck feathers,turning this
utilitarianvessel into a dynamic birdlike
form, as is often the case with contemporaneous works in metal and ceramicproduced
under the Seljuqs(I040-1194) in Iran.
The decorativering in the middle of the
body was achievedwith a peculiarand rarely
seen technique, that of pressinga pointed
tool into the still-hot glasswith a steady
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Pen Box
India (possiblyDeccan or Kashmir)
late i7th-early i8th century
Lacqueredpdpier-machewith gold leaf
L. 91 in. (23.3cm)
Inscribed:[by the]kamtarin (the humble)
mano'har
Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky
Fund, 2oo2
2002.416a, b
I0
This lacquerpen box is a fine example of a
combinationof Indian,Persian,and European
elements first seen in painting in Iran at the
end of the seventeenth century. The central
motif depicts a young woman in Persian
dressholding a branch above her head in a
dohadasalabhanjikd(girl who fertilizesa tree)
pose that is familiarfrom ancient Indian art.
Above, an amorous couple is in Indian dress,
the prince seated on a high scalloped-back
chair. Below, a Europeangallant, seated on
the rocks, plays his flute to deer grazing
nearby.The sides of the box are painted with
pastoralscenes, including groups of travelers,
hunters, a pair of lovers, and views of distant
architecture,Europeanizingconventions
that were popularin contemporarySafavid
lacquerpainting.
The close relationshipbetween this box,
the
by
previouslyunknown Indian painter
Manohar, and a lacqueredjewel box in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, attributed to the artist Rahim Deccani, suggests
that this appealinghybrid style was also practiced in India. Severalimportant Persian
artistsare known to have spent time in India
in the late seventeenth century, including at
centers in the Deccan and as far north as
Kashmir,giving rise to local painting styles
NH
that followed their influential mode.